Close Your Eyes And Deal
by Gray Doll
Summary: 'He thought for a moment. "Well... I believe that we could land upon a mutually beneficial agreement."' / part of my 'Deal' AU /


**Notes: **This can be read as a little 'prequel' of sorts to "Last Fair Deal Gone Down", or as a stand-alone fic if you like. It's, well, a bit weird, and there are hints of non-con. Consider yourself warned!

* * *

**Close Your Eyes And Deal**

"I called you here because I wanted to make a deal."

Lisbon saw the mild surprise in Red John's eyes and swallowed.

"Do you, now?" He approached her, hands in his pockets, and she was wary. She had already regretted having contacted him, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she was betraying not only Jane but herself as well by merely talking to him. But she had thought about this, over and over again, and she could see no other way out of the mess Jane had gotten himself into. "And what brought this about, Saint Teresa?"

Lisbon sucked in a deep breath. Her hands were energetic, nervous, and she absently pushed some of her long dark hair out of her face, blown by the wind. "I know what you're planning to do with Visualize, and that Jane has made a deal with _you, _trying to trick you into believing he has no idea who you are." Well, Jane really didn't. He was simply suspecting the man, as he was numerous others.

If Red John was surprised before, he was utterly astonished now. He hid it well, though.

"Well..." He walked up to her and began circling her, and Lisbon was trying hard not to shiver with disgust at his proximity. "That's interesting. How did you learn of Patrick and mine's little accord?"

Lisbon fought to keep a straight and cold face. "You have your sources. I have mine."

"Apparently." She twitched sharply when she felt the side of his finger sliding down her arm and considered tackling him and breaking his hand as a warning, but instead shut her eyes and forced herself to be civil. "I do love a woman who keeps informed. So you know all I have in store for my dear Patrick."

"Yes." Her voice held enough coldness and confidence to convince him that it wasn't a bluff, for he didn't ask her to elaborate or prove it.

"And you want to...?"

"Stop it."

Red John's expression darkened momentarily. "Well, I truly hate to burst your bubble, Teresa, but I have no intention of-"

"I don't care what you do. You can do what you like. I just don't want Jane involved."

He gave a small shrug and turned to face her fully. "Well that's a different story entirely. But I should warn you, my dear, that every ounce of my service comes with a price, unless you already have something that might be of interest to me that you want to bargain with."

Lisbon had nothing of the sort. She knew that anything worthy of Red John's interest was something not worthy of losing.

"And what," Lisbon asked tightly, "is your price?"

He thought for a moment. "Well... I believe that we could land upon a mutually beneficial agreement."

* * *

And that was that.

He laid beside her for a time, then got up and began to get dressed. He did so in a perfunctory fashion, like he'd probably had numerous times before, and after a few moments of silence and stillness, Lisbon sat up and did the same.

A small part of her took a measure of comfort that Jane wouldn't end up dead on his back under a bloody smiley face after this. That part was slightly, ever so slightly proud that she'd sacrificed for the sake of her friend and her team in general.

And the better part of her felt like she'd thrown her pride, her strength and her self-respect on the ground and let it get trampled on. By a serial killer. She felt cheap, tawdry, weak, damaged. She felt lower than she had ever thought possible.

She was too dazed to stop him when he grabbed her head and pulled her in for another kiss, all teeth and tongue, before letting go and straightening up. Lisbon was still seated on the bed. Her underwear was back on, but she'd only managed to get her jeans partway restored. Her shirt and jacket were still on the floor.

"That was fun, love. We should do it again soon."

Lisbon snapped back to full awareness, fixing him with an icy glare. "Go to hell."

"If such place exists, there's no doubt that's where I'll go, but thankfully not yet." He straightened his shirt and gave her a crooked smile. "You shouldn't be so ashamed of yourself. Besides, you know what I wanted from you in the first place wasn't the sex itself. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less about _that_."

Lisbon squinted her eyes at him. "Now you tell me?" she asked sarcastically, and he chuckled.

"Don't worry, darling," he said. "I got what I wanted. Or, to be more precise, you gave it to me."

"Go to hell," she repeated, averting her gaze from his.

"If you insist." He bent down and gave her a soft peck on the forehead, and it took every ounce of her willpower not to punch him in the face. "I'll miss you terribly, though. It's going to be such a lonely place without you."


End file.
